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Friday, January 27, 2012

While I've been actively working on a variety of ideas and other projects, I haven't posted here since early January! Well, I have some news here, and it involves my next Poster Comic, set to debut during the first week of February.

Here's a quick sneak peek at the brand-new character who's going to debut in that one-page comic:

Here's what I'll share about this individual: He's a supernatural hitman, a crystal gun-for-hire. I actually had done a drawing of him, from either early 2011 or maybe even sometime in 2010. At the time, the visual idea for the character popped in my head, and this is what he looked like originally:

When I found this sketch about 2 weeks ago, I started thinking about the whole idea in the back of my head. When I first drew him, I really don't think I knew what he was about at all! But for the last two weeks or so several ideas ran through my head, all given the directive that 'it must be something off-the-wall'. I think I finally settled on the final concept just a few days ago, and today finally solidified the look and story. At least the story I want to tell in a one-page comic.

These Poster Comics of mine, of which I've already donetwo, are kind of like my comic book version of a Haiku, those short form Japanese poems that can run as few as three lines. Since it doesn't seem likely to me that I can ever produce all the stories I want to, at least in the form of a comic book series or full-length graphic novels, I want to at least produce a body of work consisting of a wide variety of material, taking different forms of visual storytelling.

And to be honest, since I've committed to produce 12 monthly Poster Comics this year, it's actually an exciting challenge to create these short form stories, limited to only one page. While I have enough ideas for stories with new and existing characters of mine, I also have at least one biographic story, a historical comic, and an adaptation of a public domain movie I plan to tackle in this format.

As I mentioned in a previous post, another one of the goals of these Poster Comics is to craft a visually interesting graphic design piece, something that stands as an 11" x 17" image, but also works as a story someone can read and, hopefully, enjoy.

The new Poster Comic should be up here by the end of next week. Stay tuned...

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Here it is, I just finished my first comic of 2012, a brand-new Poster Comic, "TO BE CONTINUED":

If you're having problems reading the comic at this size, follow this link to my DeviantArt page where I was able to upload a much larger version (just click the image to enlarge it, once you open the page).

Part year-in-review wrap up, part autobio, but all full-color comic, baby! This was fun because it's the first time I've ever done a story with so many of my key comic book characters in it. Plus over the years I've enjoyed doing autobiographic stories, so this was a nice way to come up with a combo platter of a comic.

My first Poster Comic was done just this past December, "HAUNTED HOLIDAYS", starring two new characters of mine, Jacob & Joaquin: The Wandering Jew and Catholic Boy. Check it out here.

I realized as I was working on "TO BE CONTINUED" that this is the second comic in a row I've done that starts out at a cemetery! I say it's a complete coincidence! But, if you're from my area, you know Rose Hills is a beautiful memorial park, and it's presence is seen for miles throughout the neighboring cities of Whittier, Pico Rivera, etc. So, if I had to have a secret studio hideout (with easy freeway access!) it would probably be right there atop that hill...

In between a couple of comic book projects I'm working on for this year, I'd like to attempt to produce one new poster comic every month. I want to work in different art styles and vary my subjects, as a way to keep myself stretching and experimenting as a creator. Stay tuned...

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It's me!

I'm a DIY cartoonist, creator of such comics as EL MUERTO, THE COMA and WEAPON TEX-MEX, which I publish under my own imprint, LOS COMEX. I'm also the Associate Producer of the award-winning El Muerto live-action film adaptation and I co-founded the LATINO COMICS EXPO. I teach comic book workshops throughout Los Angeles in schools and libraries.